Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Tom Toles online archive

This may be old news, actually it is old news, but it bears repeating. All of Tom Toles' cartoons for the Post since 2003 are online. But in addition to the version we see published in the paper, he has also been posting his sketches for the day's cartoon since August 2005 - which may or may not be what finally gets drawn. I think this is still a rare peek into a top cartoonist's working process.

New comics expected today, courtesy of Big Planet Comics



My friend Joel Pollack, owner of Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, sends out this weekly list. Hopefully, he won't mind my reposting it here, especially since I've already stopped in today and dropped a load of dough.

New comics arriving this WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND

DC COMICS
52 WEEK #29
ACTION COMICS #845
BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT ARCHIVES VOL. 5 HC
BLUE BEETLE #9
BOYS #5
CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON’S BLOOD #1
CREEPER #4
EX MACHINA VOL. 4: MARCH TO WAR TP
HAWKGIRL #58
JACK OF FABLES #5
JSA CLASSIFIED #19
MAN CALLED KEV #4
RED MENACE #1
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL. 1 TP
SUPERGIRL AND LSH #24
SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL. 3 TP
SWAMP THING VOL. 9: INFERNAL TRIANGLES TP
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5
WONDER WOMAN #3
Y-THE LAST MAN VOL. 8: KIMONO DRAGONS TP

MARVEL COMICS
ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #11
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #536
AVENGERS: EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #2
CAPTAIN AMERICA: RED MENACE VOL. 2 TP
CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #8
DAREDEVIL #91
ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 3 TP
EXILES #88
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END #2
HELLSTORM, SON OF SATAN #2
HEROES FOR HIRE #4
HEROES REBORN: CAPTAIN AMERICA TP
MARVEL HOLIDAY DIGEST TP
NEW EXCALIBUR #13
NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC
PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL #1
RUNAWAYS #22
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #12
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #102
WOLVERINE #48
X-FACTOR #13

INDYVILLE
ANGEL: AULD LANG SYNE #1
ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #12
ARCHIE & FRIENDS #105
ARMY OF DARKNESS #12
BLAB VOL. 17 GN
BUCKAROO BANZAI #3
CASANOVA #6
CONAN #34
DENNIS THE MENACE COMPLETE 1955-56 HC
DRAIN #1
FATHOM #11
FUTURAMA COMICS #28
GODLAND #14
THE GOON NOIR #2
HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS 2006
IMPALER #2
JOHN WOO’S SEVEN BROTHERS #2
LOOKING GLASS WARS: HATTER M #4
NOBLE CAUSES #25
PERHAPANAUTS: SECOND CHANCES #2
PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND #2
PLANETARY BRIGADE: ORIGINS #1
PREVIEWS VOL. XVI #12
SAVAGE RED SONJA #4
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #1
STAR WARS: KOTOR #10
TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED MOVIE ADAPTATION #2
USAGI YOJIMBO #98
WALKING DEAD #32
WIZARD #183

PLANET PICKS
52 WEEK #29
ACTION COMICS #845
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #536
BOYS #5
CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON’S BLOOD #1
DAREDEVIL #91
EX MACHINA VOL. 4: MARCH TO WAR TP
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END #2
GOON NOIR #2
HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS 2006
JACK OF FABLES #5
JOHN WOO’S SEVEN BROTHERS #2
MAN CALLED KEV #4
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL. 1 TP
SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING #1
WALKING DEAD #32
WONDER WOMAN #3
X-FACTOR #13
Y-THE LAST MAN VOL. 8: KIMONO DRAGONS TP

Comics blog by DC resident John Daniels

My friend John Daniels lives in DC, reads more superhero comics than I do, shops at different comics stores, and has been at this blog thing longer than I have. He's writing Comic Story Arc, a blog with reviews and commentary, and his current page shows an interview with Frank Beddor, writer of Hatter M and The Looking-Glass Wars. I'll be checking that out since I just picked up the novel.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Author mentions Garry Trudeau's visits to Walter Reed hospital



The Comics Reporter linked to this article today in which amputee reporter, Michael Weisskopf, is asked by reporter Ben Steelman about Garry Trudeau. Weisskopf, who lost a hand as an embedded reporter while grabbing a live grenade tossed into the vehicle he was riding in, had this to say about Trudeau:

"Q. You mentioned that Doonesbury picked up the story line of its character B.D. losing a leg. What did the guys on Ward 57 think of that?

A. I think they believe it's nice to have the attention given to their lives. (Doonesbury cartoonist) Garry Trudeau, whom I've met through this process, is a real solid guy. He goes to Ward 57 regularly and uses proceeds from his work to help the Fisher House Foundation, which runs family support centers for wounded soldiers."




Ward 57 is the orthopedics and neurosurgery ward at Walter Reed here in DC, and information on the Fisher Houses can be found here.. Basically they're apartments for families of soldiers who need long-term care, but they also let the wounded soldier relearn living and domestic skills. The Combined Federal Charity campaign underway now for federal works certainly must have them as a charitable choice. The proceeds from Trudeau's work that Weisskopf refers to are profits from the two books about BD's wounding and recovery, The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time and The War Within: One More Step at a Time.

Cartoon Medicine in NY Times


Joe Palooka fought VD in World War II

Paul Terry battled booze in World War I (before Mighty Mouse)

Frank Mack became a cartoonist for Ripley after the war.









The film festival that the National Library of Medicine put on a few weeks ago was covered in today's New York Times (November 21, 2006), Historians Resurrect ‘Cartoon Medicine’ for a New Generation, By AMANDA SCHAFFER

The images above are from the National Museum of Health and Medicine's collection, but the National Library of Medicine also has posters by cartoonists from World War II and later.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Who is Greg Houston?

Beats me, but he's been doing some nice work for the City Paper. This is the second article he's illustrated in recent months - iirc he did one on the night life of Adams Morgan, such as it is.

Actually a quick Google search reveals his website and the fact that he's a Baltimore-based illustrator. He's got quite a few images on his site, including a Venom and a Batman, for us comic book fans.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for his work. The cover of this week's City Paper really stood out but they don't seem to have put it up on their website.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Off topic - Von Allan interview

Longtime (hah!) readers of this blog might recall that Von Allan sent us a press release before his SPX appearance. I stopped by to meet him and enjoyed talking to him and seeing previews of his comics. I know he's a reader of the blog because he keeps posting comments asking how to pronouce "Marjane" as in Marjane Satrapi. Since I haven't answered that yet, here's a link to a recent interview with him.

Nov 25 - Booksigning Sean Delonas

The Washington Post's Book World lists a signing by New York Post cartoonist Sean Delonas and his son Ryan. They've coauthored a children's book, Scuttle's Big Wish. The signing is at Aladdin's Lamp Children's Bookstore, 2499 N. Harrison St, Arlington at 11 am. For some reason they're asking for an RSVP (I've not been to the store - perhaps it's small) - 703-241-8281. I'm not familiar with Delonas' work, but I think I'll try to attend this.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Minor Washington Post comics bits

Two Post strips this week have a bit of interest. Dave Astor does an excellent column on newspaper syndicates, and I'm not just saying that because he just quoted this blog. He pointed out earlier in the week that Hilary Price, Rhymes with Orange cartoonist, is on her honeymoon, and Mary Lawton is doing the strip for two weeks, a fact that complete escaped me even though I read the darned thing. (For those reading between the lines of Dave's story, yes, Price is an out of the closet lesbian).

Ok, a third thing before the second - The Other Coast alternates with another panel in the Post, annoyingly enough, but as Dave points out Raeside really bit the hand that feeds him yesterday. Good for him. "Peanuts out of the Post!" could be my rallying cry.

The second thing is that Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine strip is doing another of those breaking the fourth wall bits and swapping into his strip bits of Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley (who's on vacation).

Any further interest in posts like this where I just note what struck me about a comic? I read the Post, City Paper, Blade, Examiner, Express and Washington Times* (when I get it for free) as well as the NY Times (brag, brag) so I might have something to note if there's any interest.

*It's that Comics Research Bibliography thing that drives me.

Post mentions American Born Chinese at National Book Awards

National Book Awards Honor 'Echo Maker,' 'Worst Hard Time' By Bob Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, November 16, 2006; Page C01 has a little bit on Gene Yang's nomination. To wit:

In his acceptance speech, [Young people's literature award winner M.T.] Anderson made a point of noting that Gene Luen Yang's "American Born Chinese" was the first graphic novel nominated for a National Book Award. "There is a lot of dithering in the blogosphere," he said, about whether graphic novels are worthy. This can now be laid to rest.

and

Yang said he thinks we're "in the middle of a renaissance for the graphic novel" -- finally seeing "an entire body of work" in the form that aspires to be literature.

Nothing world-shaking, but perhaps of interest.

In other news, as I was driving home tonight I was behind a silver Pacifica SUV with a license plate that read "DC Comic" - it was driven by a black man in a military uniform, and judging from the frequency of shows advertised at Walter Reed, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's a comedian. I was excited for a minute though.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Nov 18 - Academic panels - “Comics, Graphic Novels, and the Bible” REPOST

This has gotten closer, so I'll repeat the information.

A. David Lewis reports that he will be speaking at the following session. More details if I get them, but it sounds interesting. Besides the obvious issue of the propriety of the Danish Islam cartoons, there has been a lot of growth in Christian and Jewish comics in the US. (BTW, I think that's Andre, not Andrea).

Program for 2006 National Academy of American Religion/Society of Biblical Literature

SBL Forum Special Session, Nov. 18, 1pm – DC Convention Center
“Comics, Graphic Novels, and the Bible”
Dan W. Clanton, Jr., Presider

Papers

G. Andrew Tooze, Winston-Salem, NC, “Do Superheroes Read Scripture? The Bible and Comic Books” (30 minutes)

Terry Clark, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, “Biblical Graphic Novels: Adaptation, Interpretation, and Pedagogy” (30 minutes)

Andrea Molinari, Creighton University, “Climbing the Dragon’s Ladder: Perpetua, Felicitas, Graphic Novels and the Possibility of Modern Hagiography” (30 minutes)

Panel Discussion (60 minutes)

Greg Garrett, Professor of English, Baylor University
A. David Lewis, author of The Lone and Level Sands
Steve Ross, author of Marked
JT Waldman, author of Megillat Esther

Library of Congress announces Swann Fellowship applications

This just in from the Library. Note that the grant supports doing research in the Library's collections, which have grown quite a bit. In addition to the donation/purchase of Art Wood's collection which is the basis of the Cartoon America exhibit, the Library also picked up the Harry "A" Chesler collection from Fairleigh Dickenson University in 2001.

November 15, 2006

Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115, mkenn@loc.gov

SWANN FOUNDATION ACCEPTING FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
Foundation Supports Research in the Humorous Arts of Caricature and Cartoon

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, is accepting applications for its graduate fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year. Applications are due by close of business on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, and notification will occur in the spring.

The Swann Foundation awards one fellowship annually (with a $15,000 stipend) to assist in continuing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon.

As part of the fellowship, the Swann Foundation will support a required two-week residency at the Library of Congress, where the fellow will use the Library’s extensive collections and deliver a public lecture at the Library on his or her work. The fellow must also provide a copy of his or her dissertation, thesis or postgraduate publication upon completion, for the Swann Foundation Fund files.

Guidelines and application forms are available through the Swann Foundation’s Web site www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html, by e-mailing swann@loc.gov or by calling Martha Kennedy in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library at (202) 707-9115.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a resident of the United States and a candidate for a master’s or doctoral degree at a university based in the United States, Canada or Mexico. The applicant must be working toward completion of a dissertation or thesis for that degree or be engaged in postgraduate research within three years of receiving an M.A. or a Ph.D. Individuals who are not U.S. residents but who otherwise meet these academic qualifications may also apply and be considered for a fellowship, contingent upon the applicant’s visa eligibility.

The applicant’s research must be in the field of caricature and cartoon. There are no restrictions on the place or time period covered. To encourage research in a variety of academic disciplines, any university department may oversee a project proposed for the fellowship, provided the subject pertains to caricature or cartoon art.

Requirements for the fellowship applications include a statement of qualifications, a one-page abstract of the proposed project, a project description that specifies research needs and a budget, two letters of reference and official transcripts.

The Swann Foundation fellowship in caricature and cartoon is the only scholarly fellowship that provides direct support for continuing graduate research in the field. It has supported groundbreaking research on caricature and cartoon that focuses on a variety of subjects and topics such as the Cold War; representations of race, class conflict and disease; and the early origins of caricature.

The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon is overseen by an advisory board composed of scholars, collectors, cartoonists and Library of Congress staff members. The foundation’s activities support the study, interpretation, preservation and appreciation of original works of humorous and satiric art by graphic artists from around the world. New York advertising executive Erwin Swann (1906-1973) established the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in 1967.

# # #
PR06-212
11/15/06
ISSN: 0731-3527

Washington Examiner dropping comics followup

Today the Examiner ran the letter on the left. I'd call it disingenous since the Pooch Cafe website shows no signs of the strip being discontinued, and it ran today in the Post's free Express paper. And of the strips the Examiner ran, it duplicated Over the Hedge in Overboard's space.

Also in today's Examiner is Brian Truitt's New Comic Book Releases column which I always enjoy.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Washington Examiner dropping comics?

Since the middle of last week, the Examiner appears to have dropped a page of comics. On October 14th, a paper I happened to have lying around the house, they had two pages of strips. These were Adam@Home, Frazz, Overboard, The Duplex, Pooch Cafe, Jump Start, Prickly City, Rose is Rose, Over the Hedge, The Buckets, Monty, Spot the Frog, Marmaduke, and Herman. In other words, a good middle-of-the-road selection.

Today's paper though only has Frazz, Over the Hedge, Overboard, Spot the Frog, Adam@Home, and Prickly City (which also runs in the Post). And this has been the case for a few days now. So have they cut almost 2/3 of their strips with no notice? Perhaps some more journalistically-inclined soul will look into it.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Nov 27 KAL speaks in Baltimore

The Daily Cartoonist reported that KAL will be speaking in Baltimore soon, and KAL's website has the details:

The League of Woman Voters is sponsoring a special event with KAL on Monday November 27

A lecture titled KAL Draws Criticism: Political Cartoons and The Democratic Society will begin at 6PM at Sheppard Pratt Conference Cente, 6501 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD

Tickets are $10.00

For more information call the League office, 410-377-8046 or email lwvbaltimore@verizon.net

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Cartoon America opening photographs

The exhibit opening in the Library of Congress' Members Room was marked with speeches from various luminaries like Librarian of Congress James Billington (I only partially envy him his job), Jules Feiffer, Kevin KAL Kallaugher, Harry Katz, Ann Telnaes, Brian Walker and Art Wood. I'll try to update this entry to post some comments they made that struck me, but in the meantime, here's some pictures that Richard Thompson requested.


Jules Feiffer


Brian Walker



Kevin KAL Kallaugher


Ann Telnaes


Warren Bernard, volunteer cartoon cataloguer, and curators Martha Kennedy and Sara Duke.


Richard Thompson talking to the former manager of the Susan Conway gallery, as the signing line goes on.

Cartoon America review in Washington Post




The Post ran a good review in yesterday's paper, albeit in the Weekend section instead of Style -

Cartoons That Draw You In
By Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 10, 2006; Page WE48

The pull quote would be, "Tightly yet smartly organized by curators Sara W. Duke and Martha H. Kennedy, this cream-of-the-crop-style survey showcases a collection that is not just vast but deep, featuring a 1743 etching, "Characters & Caricaturas," by satirical printmaker William Hogarth along with examples of original work by Bill Griffith ("Zippy the Pinhead") and Lynn Johnston ("For Better or for Worse"), two contemporary masters of the daily comic strip."

As I've said before, this is an excellent show. I attempted to take my daughter to see it yesterday, but the LoC was closed for the holiday, which is today, and it's open today of course. And don't forget to see Martha and Sara's fine little Herblock show which is upstairs in the American Treasures exhibit.

Nov 25 Booksigning by Ted Hake at Geppi's Museum

Since this is essentially a press release, I don't think they'll mind if I reproduce it in full.

GEM's Inaugural Signing with Ted Hake
Superstars, Scoop, Friday, November 10, 2006
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=13776&si=122

As announced in last week's Scoop, Geppi's Entertainment Museum has developed an author signing series and is proud to announce that Ted Hake will be the inaugural featured guest author on Saturday, November 25, 2006. Ted will be the guest of Geppi's Entertainment Museum Store from 1 to 4 pm on the second floor of historic Camden Station in downtown Baltimore, MD on the Camden Yards campus.

Ted Hake is recognized as the founding father of America's collectibles industry. He began Hake's Americana & Collectibles in 1967, the first auction house to specialize in 20th century American popular culture. His early initiatives in hundreds of collecting areas contributed significantly to establishing collectibles as a major pastime for millions of Americans. Over the years, Hake has shared his expertise by writing seventeen reference/price guides covering such subjects as presidential campaign artifacts, pinback buttons and vintage collectibles in the areas of advertising, comic characters, cowboy characters and television. His lifelong interest in Disneyana culminated in 2005 with the comprehensive (9,000 pictured items) Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles 1st Edition (Random House). He is a frequent guest on radio, was an appraiser on the first two seasons of the PBS series The Antiques Roadshow and is a featured expert on the History Channel's 2003 program History of Toys. In March 2004, Hake sold his business which is now a division of Diamond International Galleries and he continues as Chief Operating Officer.


Hake's four annual catalogue and internet (www.hakes.com) auctions, sales lists and books are produced at the company's home office in Timonium, Maryland.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Steve Geppi interview podcast

I haven't made it to his new museum in Baltimore yet, but I'm looking forward to going.

Zurzolo, Vincent. 2006.
Steve Geppi interview
World Talk Radio's Comic Zone (November 1):
http://www.worldtalkradio.com/archive.asp?aid=8307

Steve Geppi -comic Collector, founder of Diamond Distribution and the Geppi Entertainment Museum joins Vincent Zurzolo to talk about his illustrious career in the world of comics!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Nov 9 - articles in today's papers

Besides the Chast article, the Express has wire stories about SpongeBob and the new animated penguin movie, Happy Feet. The Examiner has an AP story about the new Disney biography that's about to come out.

Nov 16: Roz Chast speaks and sells


The Express has an article on New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast speaking at the Smithsonian's Residents Associates Program. The lecture, presumably part of her book tour, is $25 or 15 bucks if you're a RAP member. While I've paid for one of these in the past, notably Mankoff and the other New Yorker cartoonists that were touring with the complete cartoon book a couple of years ago, in general it pisses me off to pay someone to be sold something by them. So I won't be attending this. On the other hand, it appears to be sold out so apparently they didn't need me anyway.

Satrapi at Politics and Prose followup

Tom Spurgeon linked to this site which reproduces a State Dept information piece on Satrapi, quoting from her talk at Politics and Prose on Halloween. This struck me as slightly odd, but not inappropriate. She's certainly an articulate advocate for her point of view.

Since works by the US Gov't are in the public domain, here's the whole piece:

06 November 2006
Book About Wartime Iran a Statement Against Dictatorships:
Graphic novel explains experiences of Iranians during revolution and war


Washington -- Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, a four-volume series that first was published in 2000, has become one of the most influential graphic novels in the past 10 years and is a cornerstone of curricula being taught at U.S. universities, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the premier institution for training U.S. Army officers.

The series, which tells the story of Satrapi's life in revolutionary and wartime Iran, has educated and inspired a wide range of readers, including pro-democracy activists from China to Chile.

“Suddenly it became the story of all dictatorships and it put me in a situation that suddenly, despite myself, I became the voice of a generation or the population,” Satrapi said in Washington October 31.

She said she wrote the book to help outsiders understand the Iranian people and their experience during the revolution and war with Iraq, adding that with the current tensions between Iran and the outside world, “there is a lot of need of this book today.”

“This whole work … [was] to try to show the human part of us, to say hey, these people that are so much misjudged, they are human beings exactly like you with family stories, with hopes, and you can identify with them and it might be you today.”

She said a whole generation of Iranians went through this, and now after a period of reflection “it is the right moment” to talk about these events.

Satrapi is among a growing number of women of Persian heritage living in the United States and elsewhere who are seizing upon the opportunity to tell their own stories, taking advantage of new freedoms and an increased feeling of comfort in their new societies. (See related article.)

For more coverage, see Women in the Global Community and The Arts.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

and here's a second article from the same session:

06 November 2006
Iranian Women in Exile Finding Voices Through Literature: Lack of censorship spawns creative outlet for women to tell their own stories
By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer


Washington -- Women of Persian heritage living in the United States and elsewhere are seizing upon the opportunity to tell their own stories, taking advantage of new freedoms and an increased feeling of comfort in their new societies, and the literary world in turn has begun to respond with interest.

Persis Karim, associate professor of English and comparative literature at San Jose State University in California, said that in the past five years to six years there has been “an explosion” of memoirs written by women of Iranian heritage that discuss the loss and nostalgia from having to leave their home country, as well as taboo topics such as sexuality and love.

Speaking at the University of Maryland November 2, Karim attributed the surge of activity in the United States to “a real desire for people to narrate their own story, and a curiosity on the part of Americans -- readers and publishers -- to know something about Iranian women in particular.”

Women in the Iranian Diaspora are “remak[ing] themselves anew,” and Karim said they feel more of an urgency than men to represent themselves to the outside world. She said this stems in part from a reaction to the media’s depiction of Iranian women concealed by veils and seemingly without a voice. But they also want to represent themselves “because they, in some ways, never had that opportunity.”

Karim said the freedom in the Diaspora to write without censorship “is a really important part” of the new wave of literature, and in her compilation, Let Me Tell You Where I Have Been, she includes poems and stories by women written without the knowledge or approval of their families, including topics that explore wide-ranging sexual themes that are typically restricted in Iran’s conservative, traditional culture.

“[W]hat’s exciting and interesting about it is people are writing about sexuality and marriage and love in ways that are very difficult, particularly at the present moment, to write about in Iran,” she said. “It’s a very interesting moment in terms of the literature.”

These women are asking “hard questions about American culture and about Iranian culture,” and Karim said “they’re willing to do it in writing and I think obviously, with the issue of censorship not being there, it affords them some of those opportunities.”

PATRIARCHAL CULTURE SEEN AS INHIBITING DEMOCRACY

Marjane Satrapi, a graphic novelist living in France, has achieved tremendous international recognition, especially for her book, Persepolis, which tells the story of her life in revolutionary and wartime Iran. (See related article.)

Her book Embroideries concerns the situation of women and the topic of sex in Iran, which she describes as “a big taboo in any country in which you don’t have democracy.” Satrapi was speaking in a Washington bookstore October 31.

Among other themes in Embroideries, she discusses the issue of virginity and the cultural importance and pressure that it places on women.

“[It] is the first key to the open door of freedom and democracy because until this problem is solved, of course we cannot talk about democracy,” she said, explaining that she was seeking to discuss “in a nonaggressive way” the right of women to enjoy sexual gratification.

“I really certainly believe that the biggest enemy of democracy is the patriarchal culture,” Satrapi said. Authoritarian and oppressive leaders cannot stop democracy, she argued, but the culture can. In many countries, “half of the society is repressed by the other half of the society,” and it is often enforced through popular notions that women are less intelligent than men or are too sensitive by nature to accomplish what men can.

Democracy is “an evolution,” she said. In Iran, although women “have half of the rights of the men,” 70 percent of Iranian students are women. Satrapi suggested change could occur when educated women become economically independent, but until then “our government is really not representative of us.”

LIFE IN EXILE CREATES BOTH NOSTALGIA AND CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES

Karim said Iranian Americans are beginning “to write themselves back into the narrative” of the recent events in Iran, and their work is marked by a confidence in English language expression.

“What I see coming through in the writing is a real attempt to grapple with how one situates oneself between that culture in Iran and the United States and/or other countries,” she said. Many younger Iranian Americans are claiming their cultural heritage, but are “also recognizing that they do stand outside of it to some degree.”

Simultaneously, she said, there is “a whole generation of young people growing up in the United States who are influenced and interested in Iranian culture and who are trying to find ways to address that interest.”

Karim said life in the United States, a country of immigrants, has created what she termed “hybrid literature.” The situation of living in a new place gives space for people to “reinvent themselves and maybe revisit their traditions and create new bodies of knowledge based on the experience of immigration.”

It also creates room to depart from the burden of tradition, addressing the writers’ desire to “create something new, with a new language, [and] a new experience.”

Literature by Iranian-American women is also “part of a conversation that’s much bigger than just the United States,” she said, because Iranians now are living all over the world.

“I think that that inability to comfortably go back to Iran without problems or concerns, or feeling somewhat cut off from that ability to have regular engagement with the culture … makes people want to talk about it and write about it and see themselves in some relationship to it,” she said.

For more information, see Women in the Global Community and The Arts.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

International Journal of Comic Art out now

The new issue of the International Journal of Comic Art is out now. An academic journal published and edited by John Lent, the current issue has an excellent piece on Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Batman graphic novel, Arkham Asylum by Howard University professor Marc Singer. It's also got an interview with Harvey Pekar, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel and Ed Piskor by yours truly from last year's Small Press Expo. The Exhibition Reviews section which I edit has my comments on recent local shows "Drawing Back" at Provisions Library, "Miguel Covarrubias" at the Cultural Institute of Mexico, and "Mightier than the Sword: The Satirical Pen of Kal" at the Walters Art Museum.

Buy your copy today!

Nov 7 - Richard's Poor Alamanac snuck in Post

This is a day late because my modem refused to recognize my internet service last night. The Post snuck a Richard Thompson cartoon, "An Introduction to Electronic Voting", in color on the front page of Style yesterday. The panel usually appears on Saturday.

Matt Wuerker becomes staff cartoonist on Nov 21

Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter picked this bit up from the AAEC website - local freelance cartoonist Matt Wuerker, whose work is infrequently seen in the Washington Times, and in political ads in the Washington Post, will become the staff cartoonist of the new Capitol Leader paper. The AAEC also reports that you can see Wuerker's Flash-animated cartoons here.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Cartoon America - ABC News review

Tom Spurgeon pointed this out on his Comics Reporter blog.

ABC News covered the exhibit with a report by LAURA MARQUEZ - "Vietnam War Jabs and Washington Spending: The Art of Editorial Cartoons - New Exhibit Traces History of Political Drawings, Reflecting Little Changes in Washington."

The two-page article also links to a slideshow Cartoons Through War & Scandal.

Course: Super-Mensch: The Story of Jews and Comic Books

Steve Bergson pointed this one out on his Jewish Comics group.


Super-Mensch: The Story of Jews and Comic Books
Oct. 30 - Nov. 27 ,
(5 sessions)
7:00 - 8:15 PM
Members: $55, non-members: $65


Since the inception of the comic book industry, Jews have been involved as writers, artists, and visionaries. In fact, many heroes and villains have been based on the Jewish-American experience. We will look at how the relationship between Jews and comic books began, how it has grown, and what we can expect for the future.

Richard "Kap" Kaplowitz is a lifelong comic book collector and student of the industry. His son sells comics for "Kap's Komics" online and at comic book shows.

Monday classes at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Dupont Circle, 1830 Connecticut Ave, NW, two blocks north of the Dupont Circle's north Metro exit. Street parking is available.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Nov 3 - Fluggenock poster spotted


Driving home tonight, I spotted a Mike Fluggenock poster on the lightpost base at 21st and Massachussets Ave, NW. Fluggenock's a local anarchist who puts his cartoon work on the web for anyone to print and use. The poster I saw, pictured above, can also be downloaded here.

DC needs more Fluggenocks.

Dec 13 - Booksigning - Neal Gabler on Walt Disney

Gabler's signing his new biography on Disney at 7 pm at Politics and Prose.

Salon's run an excerpt of this recently.

And apparently there's been some criticism of the book? Anyone know anything?

Nov 30 - Booksigning - Matt Diffee

Matt Diffee signs The Rejection Collection at Politics and Prose at 7 pm. These are the cartoons the New Yorker didn't want. I'll be going to this one.

For further information,

The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco has an exhibit of the cartoons through March - 655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 - 415-CAR-TOON, http://www.cartoonart.org

Reviews of the book:

Dernavich, Drew. 2006.
Back to the drawing board: A new anthology collects cartoons that were too dirty, too wacky, or just too dumb to make it into The New Yorker.
Boston Globe (October 15).

SCHILLINGER, LIESL. 2006.
Crossing the Line, Laughing All the Way.
New York Times (October 22): ST13

Washington Post editorial cartoonist Coffin in GWU magazine

I got my alumni copy of GW Magazine from George Washington University last night and my wife pointed out that there's an article on 19th century Washington Post editorial cartoonist George Yost Coffin in it by Lyle Slovick, one of the University's archivist. Coffin's papers are in the Gelman Library. It's a good article and worth reading.

Nov 3 - Aardman Animation's Flushed Away opens in DC

Reviews of the new movie by the Wallace & Gromit studio can be found in the Post, Washington Times, Sally Kline's in the Examiner and an Associated Press bit in the Express. In spite of the subject matter (rat flushed down the toilet into the sewers), I'm looking forward to seeing this.

Also in the Post is a review of Class of 3000, a new animated tv show.

Nov 2 - Cartoonists in City Paper


The cover story in the City Paper is illustrated by my friend Rob Ullman - Rob regularly illustrates the Savage Love column in the paper, although he's based in Richmond. He was up here recently for SPX and the City Paper's festival so I bought some more art from him. Most of the illos can be seen on the website, but look much better in the paper.

Also, Josh Neufeld, another nice guy who does some good travel comics called Vagabond, has an illo in the paper too.

Mike

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Nov 2 - Zadzooks on comics-related video games

In this article, he reviews a Peanuts videogame as well as the dvd for the animated Monster House.

Snoopy's dogfight with Red Baron

By Joseph Szadkowski
WASHINGTON TIMES November 2, 2006

Nov 2 - Cartoon America opens, mentioned in newspapers

I'll try to post a few pictures and quotes from the opening later, but in the meantime, the Express has a small article by Arion Berger on the exhibit, with an illustration by E. Simms Campbell. The Examiner has a blurb on the inside front cover with a completely inappropriate picture of people looking at life-size Hanna-Barbera characters. Nothing in the Post yet.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Nov 2 - Cartoon America opens at Library of Congress

I was privileged to go to the preview opening today, and hear remarks by collector and cartoonist Art Wood, Librarian of Congress James Billington, curator/author Harry Katz and noted cartoonists Jules Feiffer, Ann Telnaes and Kal, as well as meeting the Post's Richard Thompson ... and all of this occured in the gilded 'members' room of the Library of Congress. A very attractive room that was. Anyway, I'll try to post more on this in the next day, or so, but here's the press release for this absolutely fantastic exhibit. The Nast original alone is worth making the trip downtown to see. Martha and Sara have done another fine job. And don't forget that they've got a Herblock exhibit on the floor above as well.


Library of Congress Exhibition "Cartoon America" Opens Nov. 2
Exhibition Features America's Best Cartoons from the Art Wood Collection

"Cartoon America: Highlights from the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature" will open at the Library of Congress on Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. On view through Jan. 27, 2007, the exhibition is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday.

The exhibition will feature 100 masterworks of such celebrated artists as political cartoonists Thomas Nast, Rube Goldberg, Bill Mauldin and Patrick Oliphant; comic strip creators Winsor McCay, George Herriman, Chic Young, Milt Caniff, Charles Schulz and Lynn Johnston; humorous gag cartoonists Peter Arno and William Steig; caricaturists Al Hirschfeld and David Levine; animation drawings and cels from Walt Disney Productions and Hanna-Barbera; and illustrations by Edwin A. Abbey, John Held and Michael Hague.

Drawings selected for the exhibition reflect the primary collecting interests of J. Arthur Wood Jr., a connoisseur of popular graphic art. Wood's collection of more than 36,000 original cartoon drawings * the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature * is now housed in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. The collection came to the Library in 2003 through a gift-purchase agreement made possible in part by a generous contribution from H. Fred Krimendahl II, a member of the Library's Madison Council, and the generosity of Wood himself.

The collection, spanning three centuries, is distinctive and unparalleled because of the depth of holdings in political cartoons and comic strips and the specific landmark pieces in all major genres. It stands out as a jewel among the Library's special collections, illuminating the history of American cartoon art forms and greatly enhancing the Library's extensive holdings of cartoon art.

According to exhibition co-curators Sara W. Duke and Martha H. Kennedy, the exhibition presents stellar examples from Wood's collection that reflect the vitality of an innovative, indigenous art form. The exhibition features the major genres of cartoon art: political cartoons, illustration, comic strips, gag and single-panel cartoons, illustration, and animation drawings and cels. An overview of highlights includes:

* Political cartoons by leading practitioners of the "ungentlemanly art," who comment pointedly on corruption, war and public figures from the 19th century's Gilded Age to recent times. Their visual editorials reflect diverse viewpoints conveyed in a wide variety of artistic approaches, including the classic cross-hatching techniques of Harper's Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast and Washington Star cartoonist Clifford Berryman, the broad crayon strokes of Rube Goldberg and Bill Mauldin, and the painterly styles of contemporary cartoonists Paul Conrad and Patrick Oliphant.

* Rare early comics in large, multi-panel formats include portrayals of the Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, two early famous comic strip characters created by Richard Outcault. Family strips such as "Bringing Up Father" by George McManus, "Gasoline Alley" by Frank King and "For Better or for Worse" by Lynn Johnston chronicle the humorous ups and downs of family life. Selections include adventure strips "Secret Agent X-9" by Alex Raymond and "Terry and the Pirates" by Milt Caniff; artfully innovative strips "Krazy Kat" by George Herriman and "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" by Winsor McCay; and timeless classics "Popeye" by Elzie Segar and "Peanuts" by Charles Schulz. All transport viewers to other, self-contained, captivating worlds.

* Gag cartoons by Peter Arno, Barbara Shermund, George Price and others lampoon behavioral quirks and foibles that madden and amuse readers of The New Yorker and other popular magazines.

* Caricatures of Stokely Carmichael, by David Levine, and of performers Jimmy Durante and Paul Whiteman, in a 1935 staging of "Jumbo" by Al Hirschfeld, offer incisive insights and display witty and magical use of the pen.

* Treasures of animation art include a Walt Disney Productions cel of Mickey Mouse from "Fantasia"; a delightful drawing of Dumbo the elephant bathing himself; a storyboard drawing for "Bambi" by Tyrus Wong; a presentation drawing of all of the Seven Dwarfs; and a beautiful animation cel of Snow White for Disney's groundbreaking first full-length animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937).

* America's Golden Age of Illustration (1880s to 1920s) is represented by drawings created by Edwin Austin Abbey, James Montgomery Flagg, Dean Cornwell and their pioneering women counterparts, Nell Brinkley, Rose O'Neill and Katherine Pyle.

Wood, an award-winning cartoonist himself, began collecting original drawings at the age of 12. During a period of 60 years, he contacted and befriended numerous older masters of cartoon art forms, as well as leading contemporary creators in the field, and obtained selections of their work, primarily by gift and some by purchase. During his professional life, Wood worked diligently to establish a museum or gallery to preserve and showcase his collection. He achieved his goal in 1995 with the opening of the National Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon Art in downtown Washington, D.C., but the gallery closed in 1997, due to a lack of sustained funding. Undeterred, Wood turned to the Library of Congress, where he had worked early in his career, to preserve and present his collection.

A companion book titled "Cartoon America: Comic Art in the Library of Congress" will be published by Harry N. Abrams, in association with the Library of Congress. The book is edited by Harry Katz, former head curator of the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Images of many cartoon drawings in the exhibition will be included among the 275 full-color illustrations in the book, which also surveys the Library's other holdings of related art.

The exhibition and an accompanying brochure are funded through the generous support of the Caroline and Erwin Swann Memorial Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. The Swann Foundation showcases the collections of the Library of Congress in rotating exhibitions and promotes the continuing Swann Foundation program in the study of cartoon, caricature and illustration, while also offering a provocative and informative selection of works by masters from the past and present.

Nov 1 - articles in today's papers

The Express has an article on Jonah Hex by Scott Rosenberg, and the Examiner has Truitt's regular New Comic Book Releases column and a review of a new Family Guy videogame.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Post goes with Cory Thomas' 'Watch Your Head'

I don't think that La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz got its full tryout time, but yesterday the Post ran this notice:

A NOTE TO COMICS READERS
Washington Post Monday, October 30, 2006; Page C10


Today, "Watch Your Head" by Cory Thomas returns to the comics pages to replace "Boondocks," whose creator, Aaron McGruder, decided not to continue the strip after a six-month sabbatical. Written by Cory Thomas, a Howard University graduate, "Watch Your Head," chronicles the lives of six students at a historically black university. If it looks familiar, it may be because it was the first tryout strip The Post ran in place of "Boondocks" during McGruder's absence.

As always, we welcome reader feedback on this or any other feature on our comics pages. Call our comics hotline at 202-334-4775, e-mail comics@washpost.com or write to: Comics Feedback, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071.

Oct 31 - Satrapi signing and article; DC caricaturist


Marjane Satrapi's signing Chicken with Plums about her musician granduncle tonight at Politics and Prose in the District.

An article about her is in today's Express -

Rosenberg, Scott. 2006.
A life in 8 days: Graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi traces family history.
[Washington Post] Express (October 31): 17

There's also an article of interest in the Post's Health section. Mike Caplanis writes about changing his career from advertising to being a caricaturist.

Truth in Advertising -- And Art

Live Reports from the Midlife Adventure
Washington Post Tuesday, October 31, 2006; Page HE03

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Oct 31 - Marjane Satrapi booksigning REPOST

Politics & Prose Bookstore
October 31, 7 pm
Her new book is Chicken with Plums.

Given that it's Halloween, I won't be there unfortunately. She's an entertaining speaker. However, I have ordered a signed copy and an audio cd of the event. These are a nice innovation by P&P - for $7.50 you can get a recording of the talk. I've bought cds of the Attitude 3 group, Scott McCloud and Alison Bechdel in the past 2 weeks. The Feiffer audio was substandard so that's not available.

Oct 29 - two more days to see Simplicissimus!

It's closing on October 31, 2006.
Simplicissimus and the Empire 1896-1914
ADDRESS:812 Seventh St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown202-289-1200
www.goethe.de/washington

Oct 29 - Addams article in today's Post

Jonathan Yardley is kinder than most of the reviewers have been for the new book Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis - see his review "The man behind that macabre family wasn't creepy or kooky."
Washington Post Book World Sunday, October 29, 2006; BW02

Also in the BW is a review of Susanna Clarke's new collection of short stories, and the Post used two of Charles Vess' illustration. I'd be buying this for the Vess alone, but I also enjoyed her first book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell and my wife just loved it. Also illustrating a review of Robert Kagan's new book on realpolitick is a WA Roger's political cartoon on the Monroe Doctrine from the fine capitalists at Bettman/Corbis. At least they didn't slap a copyright symbol on it, as I'd estimate this dates from Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet diplomacy.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Oct 26 - Toles to receive conservation award tonight

Dave Astor reports the story over at Editor and Publisher. His Syndicate World articles are well-worth following btw.

About a year and a half-ago, the Washington Post Magazine ran a long article by Toles on his garden.

Conservation Honor for Editorial Cartoonist Tom Toles

By E&P Staff
Published: October 25, 2006 2:35 PM ET

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Oct 24 - Also in today's Post - comics aren't educational

This article -
Assigned Books Often Are a Few Sizes Too Big

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; Page A10 -

speaks to one of my pet peeves which is the de-intellectualizing (is that a word?) of books or rather the forcing of books on an audience that's too young for them. Twain didn't write Tom Sawyer for children, and this article points out some other good example. I was forced to read Kafka in 11th grade, and I can assure you that I didn't relate.

Anyway, here's the comics content, which is bothersome in a different way:

"Sofi Sinozich, a seventh-grader in the Humanities and Communications Magnet Program at Eastern Middle School in Montgomery County, said she would like to be assigned books that speak to her.

In sixth-grade English, "graphic novels [were] excluded, which annoyed many of us," said Sofi, who is partial to Japanese comics called manga because she finds the style beautiful and the stories well done.

Many teachers exclude graphic novels and comics from reading lists, even though a graphic novel was nominated for the National Book Award this year. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said he learned to read through comics after his schoolmaster father disregarded others who said they would lead to no good.

So should kids read Shakespeare or the comics? Graphic novels or "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Reading experts say they should read everything -- when they are ready to understand what they are reading."

Oct 24 - Trudeau article - Weingarten chat followup

I just snipped the four questions that related to his interview with Trudeau - to see the whole chat, follow the link.

Chatalogical Humor aka Tuesdays With Moron

Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; 12:00 PM



Baby Woman: Gene,

Thanks for running my comment yesterday. I did not know that Joanie was named after the National Women's Political Caucus, though it makes sense. (My mom was active in it around the time I was born.) So ­­ while in no way encouraging insubordination ­­ what else did you leave out? BTW, I'm a huge fan of "A Prairie Home Companion," too, so I was thrilled to hear that Trudeau is friends with Fred Newman.

Gene Weingarten: Joanie Caucus was modeled after a real person in Trudeau's life.

If you recall, Joanie arrived at Walden Commune after having jettisoned her husband and family one day. Complimenting her on her cooking, her husband had said to his friends "I think I'll keep her," and Joanie broke his nose. Then split.

So, it turns out that Trudeau had an aunt who did that, almost exactly. Suburban wife of a banker. Walked out of a car containing her husband and kids, and never came back. Lived in communes, and an Indian teepee in Oregan, called herself "Sasha Wildflower."

_______________________

Trudeau: So you are doing a profile of someone you clearly admire. How do you avoid sinking into hagiography? Do you ask yourself, "How would Pat Buchannan view this subject?" Do you try to empty your mind of any preconceived notions?

Gene Weingarten: This is in reference to my cover story Sunday about Garry Trudeau, someone I do, indeed, admire.

It was a problem. The way you deal with it is you keep an open mind, make negative judgments where they are appropriate, but don't go out of your way to seek negativity for "balance," because that's unfair in its own right. Garry made this very hard because he is, in fact, a terrific, unassuming, gracious, brilliant guy.

In the end, I decided the most honest way to deal with it was to acknowledge it in the story: I like the guy a lot. I'm sure plenty of people feel it WAS hagiography.

_______________________

When I knew Garry was a genius: In 1976, he did a strip showing Joanie's phone ringing in her empty bedroom. As if in a movie, the camera panned out her window. Next day, a pan across the rooftops of the town. The next day, a pan into Rick's window, where Rick was sleeping and Joanie was lying awake next to him. I clipped them, pasted them together, and put them in a scrapbook. 1976.

Gene Weingarten: Yes, this was one of his most famous sequences. As a sign of the times: Many papers pulled it, because it seemed to be endorsing unmarried sex. One conservative writer said that it seemed to him that the sex Joanie and Rick had was "joyless."

_______________________

St. Paul, Minn.: I'm reading Maus right now with some friends. And got wondering after I read your Trudeau piece ­­ what's the difference between a novel like Maus and comics like Doonesbury. Is it just the difference between a novel and a short story (or something like that) or is it more? Thanks.

Gene Weingarten: A novel and a short story is close, sure. In Doonesbury, various storylines are progressing in a parallel fashion. He revisits each, for a week or two, every few weeks. So actually, that is kind of novelistic

Oct 24 - Cartoon Medicine Show in today's Post, starts tomorrow

The 2-day Nat'l Library of Medicine / Nat'l Academy of Sciences animation festival that starts tomorrow got a write-up in the Post's health section. They buried it online, but follow the helpful link:

Dr. Seuss and Other Masters Of Public Health

'Cartoon Medicine Show' Highlights Early Animators' Role in Educating People About Disease and Hygiene
By Suz Redfearn
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; HE07

Monday, October 23, 2006

Oct 23 - Weingarten chat on Trudeau online

It ran today here and was fairly interesting as Weingarten included a few more anecdotes.

Speaking of which, Garry Trudeau donated the original art for two strips to the National Museum of Health & Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center - the one where BD is shown to have lost a leg and the one a couple of days later when the surgeon tells Ray that he's saved BD's life. They're on display now, if you've got any interest in what an original Doonesbury looks like - althoug the rest of the exhibit is being remounted, these are still on view. Original Doonesbury art is not easy to come by you know, but thanks to Mr. Trudeau's generosity, you can see these two.

Oct 25-26 The Cartoon Medicine Show: Animated Cartoons from the Collection of the National Library of Medicine REPOST

I'll be at both - stop by and say hello, if you can recognize me. I suppose you can ask curator Mike Sappol to point me out...

Join the National Academy of Sciences for a two day film festival of rare animated medical cartoons from the 1920s to the 1960s. The event will take place on October 25 and 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the National Academy of Sciences, 2100 C St, N.W., Washington, D.C.

DETAILS:
From the silent film era to the present, physicians, health professionals, government agencies like the U.S. Public Health Service, and voluntary associations such as the American Cancer Society, have used motion pictures to advance medical science, train doctors and nurses, and educate the public.

"The Cartoon Medicine Show: Animated Cartoons from the Collection of the National Library of Medicine," curated by Michael Sappol of the National Library of Medicine, will feature a rich sampling of rarely screened animated medical cartoons from the 1920s to the 1960s. The film series will present a variety of medical themes and genres, including dental hygiene, physical fitness, physiology, mental health, malaria, venereal disease, cancer, radiology, and sanitary food preparation. Each evening will consist of a different selection of 10 to 15 short animated medical cartoons by animators both obscure and well-known, including Walt Disney, Friz Freleng, Zack Schwartz, Walter Lantz, and Shamus Culhane.

SPEAKERS:
Film historian Donald Crafton and medical historians Michael Sappol and David Cantor will provide commentary. Donald Crafton is the chair of the department of film, television, and theater at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898- 1928 (MIT Press, 1984). Michael Sappol is a curator and historian at the National Library of Medicine. His scholarly work focuses on the body, anatomy, medical illustration, and medicine in film. He is the author of A Traffic of Dead Bodies (Princeton University Press, 2002). David Cantor is the editor of Reinventing Hippocrates (Ashgate, 2002). His scholarly work focuses on the history of 20th century medicine, most recently the history of cancer.

EVENT: The Cartoon Medicine Show: Animated Cartoons from the Collection of the National Library of Medicine
DATE: October 25 and 26
TIME: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
LOCATION: National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, 2100 C St., N.W., Washington, D.C.
COST: Admission is free, but seating is limited
RSVP: arts@nas.edu or (202) 334-2436
METRO: Foggy Bottom on the blue and orange lines

Swann Fellowship at Library of Congress

The fine people at LoC are making their yearly announcement of a cartoon-study stipend (say it 3 times fast).


The Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, Library of Congress, is now accepting applications for the Swann Fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year. Annual award of $15,000 to support scholarly graduate research in caricature and cartoon. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited M.A. or Ph.D program in a university in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Deadline: Feb. 15, 2007. Access guidelines and application at:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/swann-fellow.html

Contact Martha Kennedy with questions at 202/707-9115 or email swann@loc.gov

My apologies for cross listing.
My sincere thanks for the opportunity to post this notice.


Martha H. Kennedy
Curatorial Assistant for Caricature and Cartoon
Prints and Photographs Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4730
tel.: 202/707-9115; fax: 202/707-6647

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Oct 23 7:30 pm - Simpson's voice Harry Shearer

Shearer's appearing to read and sign his first novel, Not Enough Indians at Barnes & Nobles - Georgetown, 2040 M St, NW, 202-965-9880. In my experiences, authors will read from what they're promoting now, but are usually pleased to answer questions about their other works.